What The Bleep Do We Know? (12A)

THERE is plenty to contemplate while watching What The Bleep
Do We Know?, yet it doesn't come close to offering the life-changing
experience that it thinks it does.

Part documentary, part story and part elaborate special effects
showcase, the film is both fascinating and mystifying, yet it
doesn't know when to call it a day and quickly becomes frustrating.

The science part attempts to explore the concepts of quantum
physics and bio-chemistry by talking to leading experts in their
field, before then attempting to simplify the process for viewers
by way of an imagined story.

Hence, Marlee Matlin plays Amanda, a frustrated photographer,
who finds herself in an Alice in Wonderland-style situation as
her daily life begins to unravel to reveal the uncertain world
of the quantum field and its infinite possibilities.

As Amanda is forced to confront the nature of her existence and
all that she takes for granted, so the viewer is encouraged to
do the same, with various experts posing questions and dropping
facts at the drop of an eyelid.

Some of this is both interesting
and surprising - such as the revelation that emotions can become
chemically addictive, so that cells come to crave the peptides
that generate emotional responses (such as depression).

But the uneven nature of proceedings is such that much of the
good stuff becomes lost amid the banal.

The movie sequence, especially, feels forced and poorly-executed,
serving as an annoying distraction from some of the wider issues
involved.

While some of the science veers from the simplistic to the downright
impenetrable, which merely adds to the overall sense of frustration.

In America, What The Bleep Do We Know? has slowly become one
of the highest-grossing documentaries of all-time, having amassed
its cult following due to word-of-mouth.

The film's publicity also contains quotes from the likes of Madonna
and Drew Barrymore urging viewers to see it.

But such is the muddled nature of proceedings and the lengthy
running time (110mins), it proves mighty difficult to recommend.

As such, What The Bleep Do We Know? emerges as a thought-provoking,
yet ultimately unsatisfying exploration of the meaning of reality
and life.